Maker Space open house is March 7 and March 10

(03-01-2018)

George Sellman and Chris Dahle demonstrate the 3D printer in the Maker Space.

The Adams State University campus is the new proud home of the Alamosa Maker Space. An open house will be held from noon until 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 7, and again from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Saturday, March 10. The Maker Space is located in the former Community Partnership Building, on the corner of Hwy 160 and Edgemont Blvd. The parking lot has several visitor parking spaces.

Adams State George Sellman, assistant professor of computer science, and Ortega Middle School STEM teacher Chris Dahle, serve of the board of directors for the Maker Space. A few years ago they, along with several others, brainstormed the idea of bringing a Maker Space to the San Luis Valley. "The whole Maker Movement has been happening across the country for over ten years now," Sellman said.

Originally housed on the Ortega Middle School campus, the Maker Space provides opportunities for individuals to work on larger projects, large or small, or groups to come together to teach and learn. "We envisioned a place where people who like to create can meet, share tools and ideas and learn and create together," Dahle said.

There are three separate areas to the Maker Space and tools include everything from a laser printer, 3D printer, electronics, to screwdrivers and saws. According to Sellman, Adams State art students with a specific project in mind with the need of a special tool have already taken advantage of the Maker Space. "Andy Zaugg used the space to help his son-in-law with an artwork that is currently on display at the American University in Washington, D.C."

After only a couple of years, the Maker Space outgrew the location at OMS. "This place is freakin cool," Dahle said. "You can create anything here from a welding project to a sweater."

A grant helped purchase some of the equipment and other pieces are on loan or have been donated. "The space is becoming more than the sum of its parts," Sellman added.

Members can pay a little more to reserve a table for a long-term project or lockers are available to store materials until they can return and work again. "Everything I have learned here, I have taken back to OMS and shared with my students," Dahle said. He and Sellman hope the Maker Space will be used in the future by teachers, students, and community members.

"The space is good for technology orientated folks and art faculty and anyone who has a desire to make something," Dahle added.

Other board members include Dana Provence, art professor; Chris Adams, associate professor of chemistry; Leslie Macklin, assistant professor of ceramics; and Alamosa High School John Dodds, art teacher, and Scott Schweizer, teen tech teacher; and Jeff Washburn, retired chemical engineer. An individual must have two endorsements from current members in order to join and be willing to pay a monthly nominal fee.